Bloodbath?

Nope, it was just a pluot being devoured. Sure did look gross!

Life is good!

What can I say...it is days like this when I feel like the luckiest woman on earth! Nothing exciting going on, just my hubby mowing and my son eating lunch. But it just felt like life doesn't get much better than this! I am much blessed...

Feeling better, but still crabby

One sick little boy!

This is what Xander did for three days and nights. He was at his worst during the day when I was home with him, of course. He got up to 103.6 at his hottest. He didn't have any other symptoms, just the fever. But we finally had to take him to the doctor becuase he just wasn't getting any better. Of course, as soon as we took him in, he started to get better!

Four action-packed years!

Chris and I celebrated our 4th anniversary today. Xander has been down with a nasty fever, but started feeling good enough just in time for us to get out for a dinner date. We went to Sunsets in Wayzata. It was good food and good company, even if it was hard not to worry about our sick little boy.

Beautiful Lake Minnetonka

Yummy Baked Brie en Croute!

The Time-Sucking yard pays off

Well, it might seem a bit corny to post a bunch of photos of some flowers, but after all the hard work we have put into it...well, I just don't feel guilty doing it. Besides, once the squirrel and rabbit have made their rounds, there might not be anything left! So I take pictures often to remember how beautiful the flowers are. Even though it has been a lot of hard work (and expensive) we are pretty proud of how the yard is coming along. It was a real crap-pile when we bought the place, but it is starting to look very nice now. It is cool when neighbors stop to comment on the progress. And we are having fun with it. Xander loves all the flowers and watching everything grow. One of my most relaxing times of the day is when I am out watering the flowers, usually while Xander naps. Now if we can only get the critters to cooperate!

New rose blossoms

The rock garden

My little gnome, Jerome!

The dragonfly sculpture that Chris made in his art class

Xander is so gentle with the flowers and loves to smell them and see how they grow and bloom everyday

Father's Day

We took our first bike ride together before Xander's nap. Wow, am I out of shape! My legs felt like noodles when I got off of the bike. Chris and I worked in the yard while Xander took a long nap. Only fair - we did yard work the whole day on Mother's Day! After Xander woke up, we went to the Mall of America to look for new shoes for Chris. Since it was Father's Day, he got to pick the restaurant. Tucci Benucch - our old time favorite. We had a very yummy meal and Xander was entertaining, as usual. It was a good day!

Graduation party

We went to cousin Kelsey's graduation party on Saturday. It was extra special because Aunt Patty and Uncle Ben from California (on sabbatical in Indiana) were there. Xander has only been able to see them a few times, and he was such a little baby then. He warmed up to them quickly. We didn't leave Owatonna until well after 10 pm and Xander was deliriously tired. But still, he didn't fall asleep until we were only a few minutes from home. As I was changing his diaper before bed, he was asking "Uncle Ben, where are you?" And he keeps asking the same question...how cute is that?

Showing Patty and Ben his smooth dance moves. Here, he is doing the Butter Churn.

Come on everybody - "Raise the Roof!"

What can I say, this kid loves his Grandpa Jimmy to pieces!

Never could get all three of them to look at the camera or smile at the same time! So, I take what I can get. :) It's not often that Xander gets to hang out with both paternal grandparents at the same time. It is quite a treat!

Sophia and Jordana

Our friend Jordana had a week off between school letting out and summer school starting, so we got a chance to get together and play. Xander and Sophia are 5 weeks apart in age, but are polar opposites in just about every way imaginable! It makes for interesting playdates, that's for sure. They played all over, inside the house and out. We even got to eat lunch together.

Last week...

Is kind of a blur. I can't really remember what we did! Couldn't have been too exciting, since I can't really remember and I have a huge gap in the dates on our digital camera. I know that we bought patio furniture and a new bike for me so that we can finally all go riding together. We spent some more time in the yard (we spend a lot of our time working out there these days). We also went out to eat to celebrate Chris' promotion and raise! He is now an "Advisor" instead of an "Analyst". Same job, but with a few changes. But we are proud of him and how hard he is working. It has been rough on him the past six months, but hopefully it will pay off in the end.

Xander and I have not been hanging out with the play group much lately. I had to send the laptop in to be repaired and haven't been able to see what is going on. We hope to get back into the swing of things very soon. Both of us could use to get out and play with friends!

Ikea

It was a rainy cold day, so we decided to head to Ikea for a super cheap and yummy breakfast. After playing in the balls for a bit and checking out the toys, Xander let me do a bit of shopping. We went there to meet some friends, but we only got to talk to them for a couple of minutes. They weren't having a very good day and decided to take off early. So, we stayed through lunch (meatballs!) on our own. Xander was having his issues as well, but all in all, I think he did a good job being patient through all the browsing that I did.

 

The new neighbors

We just had new neighbors move into the house next door and so far it has been interesting, to say the least. The house, yard and garage are very run down and shabby. The guy who owns it is a slum-lord and doesn't want to spend a dime on fixing anything. The guy that moved in seems nice enough, but his kids and their friends have us a bit nervous. The first week of them living there hasn't gone well. By the third day, we found out that they got a new puppy. A Pit Bull. No fence for the yard and so far, it has never been on a leash. We are so happy that we got the front yard fenced in! With the kids partying just feet away from Xander's bedroom window, the smoke so thick that we can't have any of our windows open and the dog (that could one day shred our son to pieces) running free, we aren't thrilled. They definitely won't be invited over for bbq and pool parties!

Here, Xander is checking out what is going on with the happenings next door. Nosey little bugger! Can't imagine where he gets that from. :)

 

Panera

I love eating at Panera! I love their sandwiches, soups and salads. I have always been a huge fan and use any excuse to go there for lunch. Xander has always liked their soup and sandwiches, so it is usually a good place to take him. Especially since it is right next to Target and across the street from our library. But now I have even more reason to go there with him. They just added a kids menu that I think is the best! He had a huge deli sandwich, strawberry yogurt and milk. But what is great is that they don't even offer chips or pop as an option. The cheese on his sandwich was organic, as was the yogurt and the milk. I talked to the manager about their new menu choices and he was genuinely excited about it. He said that they had been working on coming up with a fresh, healthy menu for the kids for a while now. I told him that we would definitely be back and I would spread the word!

Xander enjoying a big swig of milk. His sandwich so thick that even I had a hard time taking a bite. He also managed to eat half of my bowl of soup and my apple. I cherish good dining experiences these days... He is two, 'ya know.

 

Splash Pad

Today was our first time back at the Splash Pad is St. Louis Park. We have been desperately in need of some play time with others, so we met up with some of our playgroup there. Xander really isn't crazy about spraying water, but it is still early in the season. Hopefully he will warm up to it the more I take him! :) It was a beautiful, but warm day, and it was good to get out and see some friends and cool off in the process.

He finally allowed himself to get wet!

And didn't like water splashing in his eye

Trying to touch the water and keep from getting wet. Isn't he a wild man?

He finally found what makes him happy - he spent a long time sitting on the water that was shooting up. He seemed to enjoy that...a lot. ;)

Lew and Xander running down the hill. They were so cute in their tropical attire and similar hats!

Another cute shot of the boys

Lunch date with daddy

Today was Chris' first day back at work from being off all last week. It is hard on Xander to not have him around during the day again, so we decided to meet daddy at grandma Linda's house for lunch. There is a lot of road construction going on in the neighborhood, so we took a walk to find some big diggers and dump trucks doing their thing.

I forgot the house key, so Xander and I had to hang out on grandma's deck and wait for daddy. It was pretty hot, but grandma has lots of pretty flowers and plants for Xander to look at.

Xander peeking out from behind some pretty lilies. He keeps asking what the flowers are called. He is trying to work it out in his head because there is a sweet little girl that he likes a lot and her name is Lily. I guess that could be confusing for a two year old.

Oooh, a dump truck full of dirt!

Clapping in excitement

Xander is in awe